Comments on: Who Won the Cold War? Who Lost the Peace?http://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2014.05.04/1610.html
a weekly column about economics and politics, formerly of The Boston Globe, independent since 2002Fri, 20 Mar 2015 10:16:44 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1By: Anonhttp://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2014.05.04/1610.html/comment-page-1#comment-713489
Sat, 31 May 2014 06:24:50 +0000http://www.economicprincipals.com/?p=1610#comment-713489It’s curious that neither Matlock nor you mention the role of US economic advisors in Russia during the transition from communism/socialism to oligarchic kleptocracy, with respect to the significant change in the US’s favorability ratings in Russia during the 1990s. Jeffrey Sachs and all the success he wrought? Shleifer and the USAID scandal?
]]>By: Denis Drewhttp://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2014.05.04/1610.html/comment-page-1#comment-665923
Mon, 05 May 2014 14:44:43 +0000http://www.economicprincipals.com/?p=1610#comment-665923Reading Piketty, I just found out that China prohibits the kind of capital outflows that are stripping Russia. Be a good point to make to the Russian people on Putin’s inability or lack of interest in protecting their core economic welfare — not that we may not be grossly at fault in turning a potential ally into an adversary.
]]>By: Dryly 41http://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2014.05.04/1610.html/comment-page-1#comment-665876
Mon, 05 May 2014 14:21:56 +0000http://www.economicprincipals.com/?p=1610#comment-665876I agree in part and disagree in part with placing all the blame for Putin’s actions on the United States.

It is true that the Bush-Cheney administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the ABM treaty was and arrogant and unnecessary action and completely unjustified. I also agree that talk of having Ukraine and Georgia be brought into NATO was improvident. You cannot change geography, demography, or, history.

Such is not the case with the Baltic states or Poland. These states originally came under Russian control in the 1939 pact that Adolph Hitler negotiated with Josef Stalin, which permitted Hitler to turn his attention to to the west with his eastern front secured. There is no legitimate “interest” that Putin has to dominate these countries.

Russia has never recognized the Universal Declaration of Human Rights nor it’s citizens accorded freedom of speech, assembly, or, the press. Nor has it a legitimate independent judiciary or the rule of law. It has always been a totalitarian state. This, of course, is in sharp contrast to the values of the West.

Nor is NATO a threat to Russia. It is a defensive organization.

The mistake the West made in dealing with Russia was becoming dependent of Russian gas which gives Putin leverage he should not have. The same is true of the U.S. in entering into an unfair trade agreement with Communist China which permits the manipulation of its currency with no mechanism to prevent it. It makes sense to me to have diplomatic relations with Russia and Communist China, to try to find parallel courses of interest where possible, and, to engage in cultural exchanges. I believe it was a despicable and sordid thing for the Bush I-Baker-Scowcroft administration to reward Communist China by offering trade talks a half hour after the massacre at Tienanmen Square. There were three genuine monsters, measuring the number of millions killed by them, in the 20th century and to see Nixon and Kissinger kowtowing to one of them was sickening. Trade is another matter and should not be done until AFTER these countries adopt minimal rights for it’s own citizens not BEFORE.

It is not given to the United States or Western Europe to recognize Russia’s “interest” as perceived by Putin to cede whole countries such as the Baltic states to his tender mercies.

At the dawn of the 21st century the United States is a much weaker country than at any time since the end of WW II. We have adopted in 1981, 2001, and, 2003 “supply side” tax cuts which left us with a massive, unprecedented in peace time, debt; we deregulated our financial system which gave us the longest period of financial stability in American history leading to the collapse of the entire financial system in September 2008 for the first time since October 1929; and, we entered into an unfair trade agreement leading to current account deficits.

The United States did not call the shots after WW I. We did after WW II and FDR, Truman, Marshall and Acheson sought to establish a rule based international system. Almost immediately the Eisenhower had the CIA overthrow the duly elected democratic government of Iran on behalf of the British and that of Guatamala on behalf of the United Fruit Company. We started a war against Iraq based on a sea on untruths, and, then saw Abu Gharib and torture at “black” sites around the world. All this takes its toll internationally and domestically. Given recent supreme court decisions American democracy itself is endangered.